Skyrim:Etienne Rarnis

Etienne Rarnis (RefID: 0003A1D6)
Home City	Riften
Location	The Ragged Flagon - Cistern
Race	Breton	Gender	Male
Level	PC×1 (range=10-100)	Class	Rogue
RefID	0003A1D6	BaseID	0003A1D3
Other Information
Health	50+(PC-1)×10	Magicka	50
Stamina	50+(PC-1)×5
Primary Skills	One-handed, Sneak, Block, Light Armor
Morality	Any Crime	Aggression	Unaggressive
Voice Type	MaleCommoner
Faction(s)	CrimeFactionThievesGuild; Riften Thieves Guild Headquarters Faction; Thieves Guild No Pickpocketing Faction; ThievesGuildFaction 0(Agent)

Etienne Rarnis at the Ragged Flagon

Etienne Rarnis, a Breton rogue, is found in the dungeon of the Thalmor Embassy during the quest Diplomatic Immunity, where you are required to infiltrate the embassy to discover what knowledge the Thalmor have regarding the return of the dragons. He is being interrogated when you arrive. Later on, he will relocate to the Ragged Flagon cistern, where his attitude will vary depending on how he was treated - he will be grateful if he was rescued, be angry if you pretended to be a Thalmor interrogator (even if you later on rescued him), and be neutral if you ignored him.

While captured by the Thalmor, Etienne will be held in captivity, unless you release him, from which point he will escape the Embassy. He will head through the caves, going all the way back to Riften. Once back in the safety of the Thieves Guild, Etienne will spend every day just wandering around the cistern, without ever sleeping.

When in captivity, Etienne only wears a pair of ragged trousers. When he returns to Riften, he wears the standard Thieves Guild armor, gauntlets, boots and hood. He is now also equipped with a steel sword.

Related Quests

• Diplomatic Immunity: Infiltrate a party at the Thalmor Embassy.
• The Pursuit: Break into Mercer Frey's house and search for clues.
• Under New Management: Become the Guild Master of the Thieves Guild.

Quest-Related Events

Diplomatic Immunity

Etienne Rarnis bound in irons, being interrogated at the Thalmor Embassy

Etienne: "Stop. Please. I don't know anything else. Don't you think I'd have told you already?"

Thalmor Soldier: "Silence. You know the rules. Do not speak unless spoken to. Master Rulindil will ask the questions."

Rulindil: "Let's begin again."

Etienne: "No... for pity's sake... I've already told you everything..."

Rulindil: "You know the rules."

Etienne: "Nooooo!!!"

Rulindil: "Start at the beginning, as usual. If you persist in this stubbornness I'll have..."

Etienne: "No, wait! I was just... catching my breath... why wouldn't I tell you again? I don't even know anything... There's an old man. He lives in Riften. He could be this Esbern you're looking for, but I don't know. He's old and seemed kind of crazy. That's all I know."

Rulindil: "And his name is...?"

Etienne: "I don't know his name. Like I've already told you a hundred- Ahhh!"

Rulindil: "You know the rules. Just answer the questions. And where can we find this nameless old man?"

Etienne: "Like I said, I don't know! I've seen him down in the Ratway. Maybe he lives down there, but I don't know for sure."

Rulindil: "That will be all for now. I must say I continue to be disappointed in your lack of cooperation. I hope next time you will do better."

Etienne: "What else do you want from me? I've told you everything. Listen, if you let me go I can take you to Riften, show you where-Ghaaa!!!"

Thalmor Soldier: "Silence, prisoner!"

Once the Thalmor are dealt with, he can be spoken to:

"I told you, I don't know anything else about it."

I'd like to hear it all one more time.

"Fine. Whatever you want. Can't you just kill me and get it over with? There's this old man. I've seen him around Riften. I don't know where he lives. I don't know his name. Yes, he matches the description of this Esbern guy you're looking for. Maybe it's him. Maybe it isn't. That's all I know, okay?"

I'm not here to torture you.

"What? Who... what do you want then?"

No time to explain. Let's get out of here. (Free him)

"Yeah, sure, okay. Come on, this way. I've seen the guards use it to get rid of bodies. It must lead somewhere."

You then have four options:

Sounds good, I'll follow you.

"Whatever you want. But let's go, now."

You go ahead. I'm not done here.

"No problem. Thanks for springing me. I owe you. Look me up in Riften if you make it out."

Hold on. You may know something important.

"I damn well hope so. If it helps you twist them up, I'm glad to help. They're after some old guy named Esbern. Something to do with dragons, I gathered it from listening to them talk when they thought I was out. I've seen a guy in Riften who they seem to think is him. Not much to go on -- I don't even know where he lives, or his name. But they seemed pretty excited about it. That's it. Now, let's get out of here."

Who are you? What are you doing here?

"They grabbed me in Riften. They seem to think I know something. They just kept asking me the same damn questions."

If you are a member of the Thieves Guild:

"Hey, haven't I seen you around the Flagon? I never expected to see another Guild brother down here. They grabbed me in the Ratway. The nerve of these bastards... they need to be taught a lesson."

He will then sneak over to the trap door while saying:

"I saw guards dragging bodies over here. Might be a way out."

The Pursuit

Once you've cleared Karliah's name and exposed Mercer, he'll angrily state:

"I hope he turns up soon... he needs to answer for his betrayal."

Under New Management

Before speaking to Brynjolf:

"Did you know Brynjolf was looking for you? I think it's about the Guild Master ceremony."

If spoken to during the ceremony:

"We'll talk later... after this whole ceremony thing's over."

"We can speak after the ceremony's done."

Dialogue

When met back in the Flagon after Diplomatic Immunity if you helped him:

"Ah! You made it! Good to see you, my friend. I'll never forget how you saved my life from those Thalmor maniacs."

However, if you didn't help him, he will be quite upset:

"So you made it out. Good for you. Don't expect me to thank you. I still remember what you did to me."

Once you've become Guild Master, he'll congratulate you:

"Congratulations, boss!"

Note

• Gissur claims to Rulindil that Etienne trusts him, implying that they used to be friends or are at the very least acquainted with one another.
• In the Prima Official Game Guide, the summary for him reads "Defiant, tough, but ultimately broken by the Thalmor, Etienne was responsible for revealing the location of Esbern's hideout during Main Quest: Diplomatic Immunity. He seeks revenge on the man that caused his arrest; a ne'er-do-well spy named Gissur."